It's Own Reward
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: Working for SHIELD means a lot of rules, official and unofficial. It means working out which stories are true and who people really are. It means untold powers and science and a lot of unanswered questions. Mallory Farmier is determined to change the latter.


_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

 _ **Author Note:** A.K.A An outside perspective on SHIELD post-Age of Ultron and on Darcy dating both Wanda & Pietro - who are both super stoked about that, by the way._

* * *

 **IT'S OWN REWARD**

 _Please be aware that you cannot publish while under the employ of SHIELD or publish any work undertaken for SHIELD once your SHIELD employment ends, unless given explicit permission by the Director._

There were a lot of rules to learn, rules about telling no one, rules about emergency drills, what to do if Tony Stark entered your laboratory. Mallory Farmier had thoroughly read through the emails she'd received after a meeting with someone called Maria Hill who definitely hadn't been a scientist. Mallory completely believed a note that claimed thorough preparation was preferred but that a certain amount of improvising was expected.

Mallory signed up – her current job didn't give her the scope to work any further on her theories and ideas. SHIELD had both funding and time. It would be dangerous, that much was made obvious, and Mallory was essentially signing herself up to complete secrecy and a world of no publishing. She still signed the SHIELD contract, her throat dry. She really wanted that funding and time and she wanted to work with whatever had been gleaned from the alien lifeforms that kept appearing on Earth. She wanted a lot of answers. And maybe something she learned could help her work progress.

"Welcome to SHIELD," Maria Hill told her with a firm handshake and a slight smile.

* * *

 _Science department employees are reminded that collaboration is encouraged and that full documentation is mandatory._

Mallory had done some noted work on light refraction which had caught SHIELD's attention and it was only when Mallory arrived at SHIELD and met Jane Foster that she realized what sort of scientific community she was joining. There were going to be so many buildings named after Jane Foster. And at least one award.

Mallory got a lab table and a lot of equipment and the ear of Jane Foster and Erik Selvig when she needed to expound something or ask questions. Mallory had time to experiment and extrapolate her theories. It was what SHEILD wanted her to do; apparently her work could be important to them and important for the safety of the country, maybe even the world.

There were rules exclusive to the lab – no lunches left in the refrigerator, no more than ten people in the lab at a time, all collaborations to be documented. Mallory took note and was more than happy to concentrate on her work. She was surrounded by her peers though and like most science-rich environments, everyone had something to say. Nearest Mallory, there was Marcus who worked exclusively with Dr Selvig and Pria who worked as part of medical as well. Their work was interesting and felt like it could feed into what Mallory was doing. That was probably why they'd been placed in the same lab area, of course. Mallory went to yoga classes every Tuesday and used the gym semi-regularly. She found that more than a couple of co-workers used the same gym. She wondered if that was a coincidence, according to Marcus and Pria paranoia was a sign that you were fitting in at SHIELD.

* * *

 _In case of emergencies, please follow the evacuation plan, supplemented by any overriding orders from the Director or the Avengers. Please be alert to the possibility of the latter being compromised whilst giving orders. Make sure you read the appropriate pamphlet._

Marcus and Pria were the first people to clue her in on the unofficial rules of SHIELD – Captain America should always be listened to, the Director knew everything about you and you just had to deal with it, no Avengers ever actually retired for good; mind control was an unfortunate hazard of the job which Dr Helen Cho was currently working on combating, the canteen on level three did the best food late at night and early in the morning.

Pria had a scar all the way down one arm – she'd gotten it when Captain America had been a fugitive and Hydra had appeared from the inside out. Mallory had been learning a lot about Hydra. She drank a lot of ginger tea and missed her Dad. He'd fought in World War II and had talked about Captain America as the best kind of man.

Mallory had a minor breakthrough with a crystal experiment she'd been conducting with something that was probably alien, she'd been encouraged to use it. She wanted to document its properties, its existence and get answers from SHIELD about it but nothing was on record and nobody could or would fill her in. She hadn't touched it without gloves, she often looked at it and thought _this might not be from this planet_ and her stomach jumped.

This was the point when Mallory learned another unofficial rule. A door banged open and someone with long dark wavy hair and clad in black jeans and a fitted forest-green blouse marched in, a cellphone clamped to her ear.

"I'm telling you you need to get down here, Jane. You're missing the light show."

The stranger held her phone out, apparently filming Mallory's experiment until it died down. Then she tapped at the phone and pocketed it.

"Thor's going to be mad he missed that."

"Thor."

"It kind of looked like the rainbow-thing that Heimdall uses to beam him home. Good work."

The stranger left as abruptly as she'd arrived. Thor. The God of Thunder who was Jane Foster's boyfriend and apparently frequent visitor, not that Mallory had met him yet. Mallory knew who she was working for but sometimes it really hit her, like now. Marcus grinned at her expression.

"You've met Hurricane Darcy."

"She's not a scientist," Pria added, peeling off a burned set of gloves. "Whatever credits she's got, they're definitely a euphemism."

"SHIELD isn't allowed to poach her."

Mallory paused, "They _want_ to poach her?"

Marcus laughed and invited her out for a drink.

* * *

 _No staff will be co-opted by another department for longer than a week without a meeting with the Director or Agent Hill._

Jane Foster was another kind of hurricane and arrived with a pen securing her hair back. She looked at Mallory's data and fed it into her own equations, starting to write things out on a huge mobile whiteboard. Darcy appeared, taking photographs of the work with her phone.

She sat on tables and leaned around people. Her nails were painted dark silver. She listened to Jane and asked questions and asked Jane to break things down for her when she apparently didn't understand. She was blunt and pushed a cup of coffee and a sandwich into Jane's hands at one point.

There were a couple of suited agents at the door now, trying to get Darcy's attention. Mallory was still getting used to seeing people who were essentially soldiers posted at almost every important doorway, populating the building.

"Ms Lewis."

Darcy waved at them briefly and took a final photo. Jane was halfway through her sandwich and sent a sharp look the agents' way.

"No poaching."

The agents didn't reply. Darcy left with them, talking about speed? And chaos magic? Mallory looked at her crystals of undocumented provenance and really wondered. Maybe Darcy was the right person to ask.

* * *

 _The Avengers initiative is to be given the highest priority. If you are unsure if any work given to you by the Avengers is officially sanctioned, confirm with Agent Hill or the Director._

The Falcon was often in the engineering department, especially when his wings needed work. He knew everything about them, the way they should move, how air currents should react to them. War Machine was frequently there too. Both of them were friendly and War Machine had a wealth of Tony Stark stories that he was willing to share.

Captain America put everyone at ease, like it was one of his enhancements. He never reacted in the way Mallory expected, she could see her father's words in him. He was genuine when he asked about her work and was always interested in what SHIELD was doing. Mallory wondered if that was because of what had happened to him before – his face plastered all over the news, being branded a traitor. She couldn't imagine working again for people who'd done that. She didn't know how to ask that particular question.

Some Avengers Mallory rarely saw – Hawkeye and Black Widow for example. The Vision was someone who shouldn't exist but did and was quite willing to answer the huge amount of questions that the science and engineering departments had for him. His gaze was incredibly direct Mallory always had questions for him. Tony Stark had had a huge hand in the Vision's creation but according to records, Thor had completed the chain.

Mallory thought about the unbelievable tales that her colleagues enjoyed telling her and the footage she'd seen on the news and now saw evidence of in HQ. This was an entirely new world, where science and magic were so different and sometimes also one and the same. It was amazing. Mallory wasn't short of scope now or questions.

* * *

 _If behavior exhibited by a member of staff becomes concerning, file a report with your superior._

Mallory noticed Darcy ducking in and out of labs, working on a computer tablet and her phone, biting her bottom lip. She always seemed busy. She didn't ever seem to really talk to people, outside of bite-sized exchanges. It wasn't like how Mallory talked to Marcus and Pria. Jane seemed like the only one who had actual conversations with Darcy, at least among the scientists. Maybe it was different with the soldiers.

The scientists clearly didn't think Darcy belonged there. Pria had said often enough that someone with actual qualifications was missing out on a job thanks to Darcy. That was probably true. So resentment was a factor, maybe also because Darcy got so much of Jane's time.

Darcy didn't seem to care; she blew through, busy and blunt. Mallory thought she saw a different expression on Darcy's face once or twice but it was so quickly gone. Mallory still hadn't asked her about the crystals or anything else, Darcy was never in the Mallory's lab for long enough. It was very frustrating.

Then one day, Mallory felt a breeze and a man was somehow stood at her lab table, he hadn't been there a second before. He wore blue and gray and had a shock of bleached-blonde hair, the roots still dark. His eyes matched them. _Enhanced,_ Mallory's mind supplied, then because of some work she'd done with Dr Selvig during the last week, _Quicksilver._

"Where is Darcy?" the stranger asked, his accent strong.

"With Jane? She was here about fifteen minutes ago," Mallory supplied, faintly because he had moved so quickly she hadn't actually seen him do it. How could his biology allow that?

As though summoned, Darcy appeared at the door. "Pietro..."

The enhanced, Pietro, grinned sharply and sped over to her. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile. He kissed her smile, quick but firm, and then disappeared at speed. Darcy grinned after him, her expression so openly fond and pleased. Some of the scientists were giving each other significant looks which Darcy clearly saw because her expression locked down and she left the room without another word.

"That's why Darcy gets to stay," Marcus told Mallory in an undertone. "He and his sister, they've got a _thing_ for her."

Mallory blinked. "And his sister."

"Yup," Marcus sounded a little gleeful. "Those two fought for Ultron, there's this story going around that Pietro died and Wanda, his sister, brought him back. There's a lot of money riding on whether it's true or not. Be careful by the way, her powers are as freaky as everyone says. So Darcy plays at being helpful and for now, because Darcy's working here with Jane, SHIELD gets to leash the twins, with her."

It was a popular opinion apparently, from how the other scientists were reacting. Mallory's mind swam with the concept of resurrection powers having an actual basis in reality and the idea of Darcy being wanted permanently by SHIELD as a minder or something else. Mallory had so many questions.

Later, she saw Pietro again, lingering in the fourth floor lobby. There was a girl with him, his sister probably from the similarity of their features and body language. She looked so small and breakable but Mallory had heard stories – Wanda could enhance people's fears, she could manipulate them. She and her brother had volunteered for the experiments that had permanently changed them. Mallory had a lot to ask her, what had those experiments been like? Why were they here now?

Wanda looked right at Mallory. Mallory looked away, her heartbeat suddenly fast. Why?

* * *

 _If you are deemed to have suffered a trauma in the line of duty, you will attend regular medical check-ups and an assigned number of mandatory counseling sessions. There are no exceptions._

There was an attack on SHIELD HQ when Mallory was talking to Jane about a particular part of her data. The building suddenly trembled and something hit the glass hard – the glass didn't break. Jane's jaw went tense; she tucked her computer tablet close to her body and turned to the sprawling staff.

"Come on."

Outside the lab, everyone was heading for the stairs. Evacuation plan, right. Mallory hadn't let go of her computer tablet either. She thought that she could see shapes flying past outside, there were definitely SHIELD agents out there too, firing at whoever or whatever was causing problems. Mallory stared but her feet kept moving somehow. She almost bumped into Darcy who was fiddling with some kind of device, a serious look on her face.

"I'm fine, heading for the basement. Keep me in the loop."

Darcy fired a quick grin Mallory's way and then started down the stairs. Mallory hurried after her, the building juddered again, and someone heavily elbowed past Darcy, someone else pushed into her hard afterward. The combination sent her into the staircase's railings and her balance was off so much that when someone else pushed past her, it looked like she might get knocked over the railings in the crush. Mallory was close enough to reflexively grab Darcy's arm, trying not to drop her computer tablet or get swept over herself. Between them, Mallory's arm aching with the sudden strain, they got Darcy back steady on her feet.

"Fuck, thanks," Darcy gasped out, looping her arm through Mallory's as they were swept down the stairs with everyone else. "It's not like we're all in this together, right?"

There was a loud smack against the nearby glass. Then there was a flash of light and Darcy grinned, though there was definitely worry and fear mixed in her expression too. "Asgardian cavalry's here."

Thor. Mallory really wished she could see that. But now she was at basement level and Darcy walked with her, her arm still looped through Mallory's, into a room that had strangely curved walls. Darcy relaxed and took a seat on one of the cushioned benches, her fingers beginning to work at her phone. Jane sat down next to her as the room's door closed and locked.

"I have Jane with me," Darcy murmured, her words apparently being heard by someone.

Mallory sat down on Darcy's other side and wondered which room Pria and Marcus was in. She slid her fingers over her computer tablet, her arm throbbing, trying to keep herself occupied and her heartbeat more regular. This was what she'd signed up for. She'd always known that, she just hadn't thought...She tried to focus on her work instead.

A lot of the scientists were looking unhappy and unnerved, the suited agents among them conversing seriously, but Darcy and Jane were working like nothing was out of the ordinary, with a focus that said they'd rather not think about the obvious attack-shaped elephant in the room. Would Mallory get like that one day?

It was a good hour or so before the room's door opened and there was Thor in Asgarian armor and he really did wear a cape. Mallory had heard more than one colleague sigh over him before and yeah, it was even more obvious why in person. He was very...overpowering. Wow. His gaze went straight to Jane.

"You are unhurt?"

Jane grinned widely, nodding as she got up to hug and kiss him. "You?"

"Not even a scratch; it was only a skirmish. And Darcy," Thor smiled and hugged Darcy. "Pietro and Wanda will be here presently."

He'd barely finished speaking when Pietro dashed into the room. He looked Darcy up and down .

"Your arm, what happened?"

It sounded like a demand but Darcy clearly heard the concern that Mallory could hear too. Darcy smiled softly, Mallory hadn't even noticed that Darcy was holding her right arm any differently.

"I almost swan-dived over some railings, everyone wants the best seat in the house I guess. Mallory stopped me getting airborne."

Pietro looked over at Mallory briefly and nodded, Mallory nodded back, feeling his weighty silent gratitude and how it twisted at her. She didn't exactly feel worthy of it. The stories that circulated SHIELD about the Maximoffs were varied but there seemed to be an agreement that they'd gotten a shitty adolescence thanks to some Stark missiles. They'd lost everything but each other. And here they were, real-life supervillians who'd decided to work for the other side. Some people said it was so that they could deal with Tony Stark personally.

Wanda appeared in the doorway, apparently having heard Darcy's story, because she strode over and said something to Mallory in a language that Mallory didn't understand. It was followed by some very recognizable English.

"Thank you."

Mallory nodded because what could she say? She'd reacted on instinct and her arm still hurt. Thor told everyone that it was safe to return to their work. He had an arm tucked around Jane who was asking him something as they left. Wanda pressed a hand to Darcy's cheek, her expression intent. Pietro was talking quietly; probably to whoever was on the other end of the earpiece that Mallory had just noticed.

Mallory could see people exchanging those significant looks again. Darcy could probably see them too but she kept her focus on Wanda and Pietro. Mallory looked at them for a moment, her questions about crystals and refractions and enhancements and what else could be out there for her work stirring up inside of her. But she left them to it. She had work to do and thoughts to gather and steady and despite her fierce curiosity, she could feel Wanda's gaze again.

In the labs, a few experiments had been jostled but nothing was too badly damaged. Jane didn't appear again until that evening, a different sort of energy fueling her. Mallory handed her the work she'd done on what they'd been talking about before the attack.

Mallory didn't see Darcy again for several days. There were a lot of stories as to why.

"Fury fired her; Jane's getting a new intern, one who can actually understand what's going on around here."

"The twins kidnapped her."

"The Avengers assembled, Darcy got caught up in it. Colin was sure he saw her getting treatment in medical."

When she did appear again, Darcy was wearing a skirt with a top that laced up the front. There was a bruise across her neck. Everyone was staring at her a little bit, in a range of subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Mallory was glad to see her.

"Are you okay?" Mallory asked her.

Darcy's mouth twisted into a halfway smile, "Well, it hurts; I'm not going to lie. But I'm here. You want to get a drink later?"

Mallory could sense people shifting behind her in the lab, like they were waiting to hear her answer. She wondered if Pietro had looked in on her already that day, if he and Wanda would join Darcy for that drink too. She glanced at the crystals still laid out on her table, still giving her that inexplicable rainbow reaction. She still wanted a lot of answers and a drink was a really good idea.

"Yes, that sounds great."

Darcy's smile completely reached her eyes and she left the lab, her phone's ringtone dragging her away. When she answered it, it was to talk to someone about porch refurbishment apparently.

People were still staring at Mallory; Pria definitely looked like she was about to say something. Mallory gazed down at her work. If Wanda was there tonight, she would probably gaze at Mallory again, Mallory's neck prickled at the thought. But she was going to get answers and her own award too.

 _-the end_


End file.
